Of course Ana is mortal. This is not news. She has "good genes," as we know from her stories, she stays in good condition, and she doesn't look her age, but she has the Thomans' respect for all life, which includes the end of life as well. The life span of the average Thoman is a decade or more longer than ours, but they do finally pass on, and those occasions are noted with much ceremony and respect on Thomo.
As an accidental sociologist, Ana has observed funerary customs on Earth with considerable interest. Perhaps the one that struck her the most is the old-fashioned New Orleans-style funeral, with its marching dixieland band. When she first saw one, on television, she was shocked, but then she learned more about it and came to appreciate the feelings of gratefulness and celebration that underlie it.
Ana found this poem about an Irish funeral procession not too dissimilar. This observance, and this poem, struck her deeply. Though simple, there's much to reflect upon in it.
Dublinesque, by Philip Larkin
More poems that make Ana emotional:
(Still more poems in the table of contents to the right)
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